Description
This apple pie is the perfect combination of the best flakey and flavorful pie crust, tart green apples, warm spices, and loads of delicious caramel! This pie is guaranteed to become your new favorite!
Ingredients
Scale
For the pastry:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup cold bourbon
- 1/4 ice water
- 1 egg for the wash
For the filling
- 5-6 green apples peeled and cored
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- Bourbon caramel sauce
For the caramel sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp bourbon
Instructions
- Start by making the pastry. Add the flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor and pulse and few times to blend everything together.
- Add in the cubed cold butter and pulse until the butter is pea and lima bean-sized. Add the bourbon and water and mix just enough so it lightly comes together. It will still look loose but will stick together when you squeeze a chunk of it in your fist.
- Pour the dough out onto a well-floured surface and lightly knead until it forms a disk. Divide it into two equal disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour.
- While the dough is chilling, start your caramel and filling.
- Make the caramel sauce by mixing the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until the mix begins to change color and becomes a deep amber color. Gently swirl the pan from time to time to distribute the heat. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the cream and bourbon. If the caramel starts to crystalize, return the pan to low heat and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken for about 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the apples, cinnamon, allspice, cornstarch, and lemon juice.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Assemble the pie. On a well-floured surface, roll the bottom crust 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer it to a pie pan and trim the edges a bit if they are long.
- Spoon the apple filling into the piecrust and then pour all of the caramel sauce over the apples
- Roll out the top crust in the same manner and cover the pie with the crust. Pinch the top and the bottom layers together to seal them. Cut a few vents. Or to make a lattice crust, cut 1-2 inch strips with a knife or pastry cutter and weave on top of the filling.
- Brush the egg wash over the pie crust, then sprinkle with sugar.
- Place pie on a baking sheet with a layer of foil or parchment and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake the pie for 45-60 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 4 hours.
Notes
- Keep all the pastry ingredients cold. The cold butter in the pie crust is what makes all the nice layers in the pastry.
- Use the good fatty butter. My favorite for pastry is Kerry Gold.
- Chill, but don't freeze the dough. The goal is to make sure that the butter is nice and firm, but that the dough is still workable.
- Chill the dough between all steps. Once you roll it and put the bottom layer in your pie pan, chill it while you finish your filling.
- The trick to caramel is to get it nice and brown but not burnt. Once it gets to a deep amber color, remove it from the heat. I like to use a light-colored pan for this. It helps you see the color better.
- Gently swirl the pan from time to time to distribute the heat, do not stir the mixture while it's cooking.
- If the caramel starts to crystalize, return the pan to low heat and stir until smooth. Let it sit for about 30 minutes so that it can cool and thicken.
